How to make a more nutritionally ‘complete’ smoothie
Anyone can make any old smoothie, however to make a nutritionally ‘complete’ smoothie (one capable of replacing a meal) needs a little bit of thought, just to make sure that you are ticking all of the nutritional boxes. Once you know what you need to do, smoothies are an excellent go-to snack or meal-on-the-go and also a delicious way to get extra nutrients into your (and your family’s) diet.
Here are our simple tips to building the most nutritious smoothie possible:
- Choose your liquid
- Water
- Coconut water
- Milk of choice (dairy, nut milk, coconut milk)
- Cooled tea (eg matcha/ green tea etc)
- Pick a protein – Serving size is normally 1-2 tbsp.
- Protein powder is convenient but it MUST be good quality (we like SSH protein, obviously) but find one that you like, as everyone’s tastes are different.
- Raw egg (if you are ok with it)
- Greek natural yoghurt
- Silken tofu
- Choose your leafy greens* – 1-2 handfuls
- Baby spinach is one we recommend for beginners as it is virtually undetectable
- Silverbeet
- Kale
- Cos lettuce
*You can actually use any leafy green here, although the strength of flavour may affect the overall taste of the smoothie.
- Pick your vegetable(s) – 1-2 handfuls
- Zucchini / cucumber (fresh or frozen)
- Pumpkin / sweet potato (already steamed and cooled)
- Beetroot
- Broccoli / Cauliflower
- Celery / celery greens
The list is endless, although some vegetables are a little sweeter and complement the smoothie better than others. This also depends on your palate as to how sweet you like/ want your smoothie to be.
- Pick your fruit – 1 handful (it is common to overload your smoothie with too much fruit. Lighten up on the fruit to help keep insulin levels more balanced).
- Banana
- Mango
- Pineapple
- Citrus – orange/ grapefruit/ lemon/ lime (provide zingy flavour to your smoothie)
- Berries
- Cherries
- Apples – green apples are less sweet
If you can freeze your fruit beforehand – it makes your smoothies not only ice-cold, but super creamy too. If using fresh fruit, add a cup of ice cubes.
- Pick a healthy fat – 1 tbsp
- Nuts (walnuts, almonds, cashews
- Flax, hemp, chia seeds
- Nut butter
- Coconut / coconut butter
- Bonus extras
- Ginger / turmeric
- Cinnamon / Matcha/ Maca
- Yoghurt
- Oats / cooked quinoa
- Cacao / cacao nibs
METHOD
Once you’ve chosen your ingredients, pop all items into a high speed blender in the order above (e.g. Vitamix, Nutri-bullet etc) for at least 60 secs until smoothie is as smooth as silk. Pour and enjoy!
If your smoothie is replacing a meal, make sure you include not only your healthy fat and good protein but also a complex carbohydrate – eg oats, quinoa, steamed sweet potato – for longer lasting energy.
In the beginning, if your little ones are not impressed by the ‘green’ colour of their smoothie, blueberries and cacao can both help to mask the ‘green’. They will get used to it, though – trust us on that one!
Some of your smoothies will be incredible taste-sensations and others might be complete flops, but have fun with it and try different ingredients. Ease yourself into the greenery and perhaps start off with a little more fruit, but with time, aim to decrease the fruit and up the greens/ vegetables content. If you need more guidance initially, look here, for 3 of our favourite smoothie recipes, right now.
Anna & Em xo
